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SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON QUARTERLY
lieveth • . . shall be saved." Works cannot save us. We
are saved by faith alone. But the writer of this epistle is
seeking to show that the mere profession of faith does not
prove that we have faith. James is setting forth the empti-
ness of the claim when there is no fruit in the life as a proof.
A sign advertising wares for sale is not sure evidence that
the goods are within. The meaning here seems to be that
that faith which a man may claim to have, but which does not
manifest itself in a holy life, will save no one, for it is not
genuine faith.
2.
The apostle. Paul speaks of the "work of faith." 1
Thess. 1: 3. Faith is living, and manifests itself in good
works. That kind of faith which permits a man to say, "I
have faith," and at the same time allow the destitute to go
unfed and unclothed, when he might minister to their needs,
is of no avail. It is dead. It does not exist in reality. Such
a person does not really believe. He is professing to be what
he is not. The fruit seen in the life will determine whether
or hot we have real faith. The tree is known by the fruit.
3.
"The word which ,is rendered 'yea' would be better
rendered by 'but.' The apostle designs to introduce an ob-
jection, not to make an affirmation. The sense is, 'Some one
might say,' or, `To this it might be urged in reply.' That is,
it might perhaps be said that religion is not always manifested
in the same way, or we should not infer, because it is not
always exhibited in the same form, that it does not exist.
One man may manifest it in one way, and another in another,
and still both have true piety. One may be distinguished for
his faith, and another for his works, and both may have real
religion."—
Barnes.
"But it must be a living faith— a faith that shows its
sincerity by the sacrifices of self which it makes, by the works
of love which it performs. A merely intellectual orthodoxy
may be held by demons. A mere profession of faith may be
worth no more than the body of a man without the breath
of life. A true faith loves, works, lives. It regulates the
conscience, the speech, and the life, by the conviction of God's
constant presence; it shows its appreciation of spiritual
realities by separation from the world. It takes the law of
God as a reality, and; bringing its grand truths and inspiring
motives to bear directly upon the conduct of every day, works
by
love."—"Bible in the Home," p. 115.
4.
A mere intellectual belief is not faith: It will save no
one. The fallen angels intellectually believe in God. They
know He exists. They have been in heaven. They know
something of His nature and majesty, though engaged in war-
fare against Him. Their belief does not lead them to re-
pentance. It terrifies them. They tremble at the knowledge